Ocean Waves Blanket

A very long absence!  Happy New Year and hope you have had a lovely Easter season as well-Myf and I have been enjoying the sunshine.  I have been working for Greggs which I absolutely love although it hasn't left much crochet time but recently I've managed to finish up a couple so I thought I  better catch up with this blog!

I started this blanket so long ago.  I was so enthustiastic initially with its pretty ripples but I got more and more frustrated with it-I was only doing two rows per shade and didn't have much plan towards the colour order so as it got bigger it looked less and less how I wanted :-(

It's beautiful but I just couldn't get past my frustration!  I couldn't start adding wider rows so it got left to the side for months while I tried to figure out a plan.

My gorgeous sister and my darling nieces came up for a New Year visit and I was chatting to her about my dilemma.  I  eventually decided to finish it off, perhaps for SIBOL, and start myself another one with more planning and wider strips.

I was about halfway done when we had a visit from a friend with her little daughter-she commented that she was cold so I wrapped her up in the blanket. She immediately loved it so much, stroking the colours (she's only four) so I decided that I would finish it up for her as a gift.  I finally finished it about a month later and put a very simple border around it before we took it over.  Little lady loves it a great deal and as it''s huge, she should be snuggling up in it for many years to come.  Don't worry SIBOL, I plan on making another water themed ripple for you soon!

Summer Solstice

I've missed Myf terribly this weekend-it's the first time EVER she hasn't been with me the morning of her birthday and it was so hard yesterday.  I did go to Cardiff to pick her up for a few hours (her dad and grandmother were quite resistant and needed reminding that I've ALWAYS let her dad come up to spend time with Myf on her birthday, no matter who's day or weekend it is!) so I took her for a nice lunch with a couple of presents.  I spent the evening celebrating the Solstice with friends-lots of laughter, good food and great company!
She's just got home now and has had a great time opening presents (I have taken loads of photos of her happy face)

She asked me to make her a rainbow ripple blanket as she loved the last one I made so I managed to finish it the night before she went to her dad's (and I finally found my other camera!)  I used the amazing Attic24's ripple pattern and the first round of the border she describes here and then I used rainbow colours in alternating spike stitches for the rest of the border.

Happy Birthday darling girl.  I love you!

Weekend Whirlwind

This weekend has been a whirlwind of cleaning and tidying so far.  During my working week, I hardly have enough energy left to get Myf's lunches sorted out and catch up on the washing up and general straightening up-I'm quite a messy person though and it builds up quickly.  We've invited a couple of friends over for lunch tomorrow so I'm trying to make the downstairs lovely :-)

Another reason for the need to have a sort out is the increasing number of items going missing.  I can't understand how these things are getting lost and all my searching is to no avail.  One of Myf's inhalers has managed to go missing between last night and this morning and I can't find it anywhere!  My other camera, that I use for uploading photos, is still AWOL and it's driving me nuts :-(  I want to show you pretty photos!  I'm messy but always know where things are so this is throwing me.  I'll tidy it all away and then I won't be able to find anything!

Myf's rainbow ripple is coming on nicely-the rows are flying by and it looks so gorgeously bright and cheerful, perfect for summer.  Unfortunately, I ran out of the shade of dark blue I needed so I HAD to go and buy wool today...always such a hardship!  I'm on a very strict budget but managed to pick up a few more colours for her rainbow blanket and a couple for another ripple blanket-this one is actually for me (it will be large and the colours of the sea, oh yes!)
 We found a new wool shop in Pontypridd town.  It's called the Krafty Kabin and it has lots of beautiful shades for me to gasp over.  I got chatting to one of the ladies working there and she showed me a 'waffle stitch' that I'm definitely going to try out soon.

Myf was very patient with me today-I'm a grumpy so and so at the moment (my hormones strangely go all over the place in June, I think my body doesn't want me to ruin Myf's birthday) and inbetween cleaning and reorganising and nagging her about her homework, she's gently given me a hug and a kiss and told me she loves me.  She reduced me to absolute floods of tears the other day when she presented me with a list of '99 facts about Mum' with things like 'gives the best hugs' and 'always makes me laugh when I'm sad' as well as calling me a 'crazy crocheter'!  Can't believe she's nearly 11....

How is your weekend so far?

Apologises for not keeping up with your blogs-I've not managed to find the time to sit down with a nice cuppa and have a read through.  How are you all?  Hope that you are all well and enjoying some crafting goodness :-D


I completed the little ripple blanket for my sister's neighbour.  We posted it off yesterday afternoon and got a call today to say it had arrived!  (With all the problems we have here, at least the Postal Service isn't one of them...well, outgoing anyway, my post keeps going everywhere because of my address)

The little girl loves her new blanket-she has some health isses and has to spend quite a bit of time in hospital.  She's due for a hospital visit very soon so I'm glad the blanket arrived so quickly as she can snuggle in it while she's there.

I think I shall start calling myself the 'Random Blanketeer'.  I seem to have a thing for making surprise blankets...

Long absence....

Sorry for all the quiet here-I've been a bit down recently and have found it a little too much to post anything.  I've got a few projects on the go-a couple of blankets and I'm hoping to make a Mandela for the lovely Attic24 and Yarndale.

Myf and I had a lovely May Day bank holiday weekend visiting my beautiful sister Mummycat, my lovely brother in law and my gorgeous nieces as eldest niece was taking her First Communion.  Myf and I spent ages trying to find suitable outfits-she was trying on loads of dresses that weren't quite right and we ended up in a charity shop that sold bridal and bridesmaid dresses.  She tried on one that she really, really loved and looked so gorgeous in but it had some kind of staining along the bottom right...nothing too bad but it would show up!

I spent ages taking up the hem and underskirt (Oh, the joys of not having a sewing machine!) and then devising some way to cover up those marks.
I naturally turned to a favourite book, Crochet Bouquet, and made some little flat flowers in various sizes in similar shades of embroidery silk.  Those got stitched over the worst of the marks and then I stitched a line circling the flowers over some of the last bits.  Added a few tiny crystal beads and done!

Myf very kindly modelled it for me

We had a WONDERFUL time with the family

I'm making a lovely ripple blanket (first time!) for my sister's neighbour's daughter-it looks so pretty already :-D